And then?
by koalabear
Summary: A few people have written about what happens directly after "Howl's Moving Castle" so I thought I would too. I guess none of us wanted the book to end when it did, so fond had we become of Sophie, Howl et al! :)


Note: A few people have written about what happens directly after Howl's Moving Castle so I thought I would too. I guess none of us wanted the book to end when it did, so fond had we become of Sophie, Howl et al! Please note (as is evident) I also haven't read "Castle in the Air" - and don't know when I shall given that I'm currently in frozen Beijing and amazon are still to get back to me about whether I'm likely to have any problems with deliveries to a Beijing address…..

I wrote this story immediately after reading the book but prior to seeing Hayao Miyazaki's movie of the book and have to admit given the very dramatic variations from the book (not just the endings etc), I think I might have to revise the story. I've made the corrections based on what people have told me about Castle in the Air but once you've seen the movie you'll kind of know why part of me thinks maybe I should leave poor Lettie / Bettie with Prince Justin … For those who do want a spoilery description of the movie let me know ;)

Thank you so much to _Rose Black_ for helping me beta the story!

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"What are you doing, love, cleaning again?" Howl asked curiously.

Sophie glanced up. Calcifer had bowed his head to permit her to cook some bacon and she was using the prosaic activity of cooking and the subsequent cleaning to take her mind off the overwhelming series of events of the last day or so. Being back in this room and doing something ordinary soothed her in a way nothing else could. The room still looked as it had; with odd things hanging from the ceiling, including strings of onions, herbs and roots. The fireplace with Calcifer burning in the grate was very comforting.

One might almost imagine nothing had changed. She was still the same old Sophie in her plain grey dress with her plain ways. A shiver of excitement went through her though. She was no longer "old Sophie". Despite her surroundings, everything was different now.

She remembered how astounded she had been when she had looked up and seen Howl appearing out of nowhere, standing with arms folded to watch the battle between the witch and the scarecrow before leaping in and uttering a word of power.

His first words to her had been typical. "I should have known! I break my neck to get here, and I find you peacefully tidying up!"

"When I saw how you had looked when you came to rescue me …… my heart ached a little to think that you cared for Miss Angorian that much." she said suddenly, looking up from the hearth.

"How did I look?" Howl demanded quickly, looking a little annoyed.

"You hadn't bothered to shave or tidy your hair., your eyes were red-rimmed and your sleeves were torn."

"Good God, woman, what a thing to say. Don't you know I always look immaculate?" he demanded and Sophie laughed despite herself.

"Trust you to still be worrying about your appearance."

"I still can't believe that you thought I was in love with Miss Angorian," he said in outrage. "Clearly when the witch gave you the body of a ninety year old, she didn't give you the wisdom. Wasn't it clear that everything I was doing, I was doing for your happiness?"

"You did mumble something about arranging for my family to visit me …."

"Yes, and did I ever hear a word of thanks for that? No! In fact all my poor spiders have been banished to god knows where by the fell brooms of Fanny and Mrs Fairfax…"

Sophie choked back a laugh. "I'm sure they'll come back." A thought occurred to her. "What did you mean when you said I was too nice – and you were relying on my being too jealous to let that demon near the place?"

"Oh damn, Calcifer's burning the bacon." Howl exclaimed.

"I am not!" Calcifer exclaimed indignantly, hissing with outrage at the accusation, promptly burning the bacon which made Sophie also dive forward, her questions temporarily forgotten while Calcifer stared at Howl with dark eyes. Howl winked at his friend the fire demon and Calcifer could not be too angry, for he was fond of both Howl and Sophie. Sophie had saved them both and in his remaining thousand years, Calcifer would never forget this.

"What's up, Calcifer? You're looking awfully cow-eyed." Howl commented as he put fresh pieces of bacon on the plate. "We're not going to get much heat out of you with that look on your face."

Calcifer looked at him disdainfully and arranged for the flames to lick higher. "Don't try and tell me how to fry bacon, Howl. Besides, Sophie is the one looking a little cow-eyed," he said, deflecting attention from himself.

Sophie _was_ feeling a little cow-eyed at the memory of Howl slumped lifelessly on the ground. "I was just remembering that Howl's first words when recovering consciousness were as typically rude as ever. _I can't stay. I've got to rescue that fool Sophie_!"

Howl grinned. "That rankled, did it? Well, you were forever getting yourself into scrapes. You can't even wear seven league boots without landing them into a cowpat."

"Bull pat." Sophie corrected him. "And I don't see how anyone who generates copious quantities of green slime when he has a tantrum has any right to criticise me for inadvertently stepping into a bull pat from time to time when using seven league boots which, while being extremely convenient, are very difficult to steer."

Howl put his arm around Sophie and jerked her close, kissing the top of her head. She was still dressed in grey. "I told you already love. Grey doesn't really suit you."

She rested her head against his chest. "I know. You called me a grey mouse"

"Didn't stop me from falling in love with you on sight." Sophie gave an incredulous snort.

Howl looked at her. "You never told me suffered from asthma, Sophie. I would have cured you had I known."

"Don't try and give me claptrap about love at first sight. You approached me because you felt sorry for me and then you fell in love with my sister."

Howl smiled at that. "_Something_ about you drew me that day and it wasn't pity. Besides – hasn't your sister heard that most of our conversations were about _you_?"

"You were always making fun of my long nose!" Sophie teased him, determined to make him suffer for longer, but he would have none of it.

"And long it is, for you are so nosy," he said pulling on it affectionately. "But do not distract me from my original thought, Sophie. I still think you should try other colours. Colours that would go better with your ginger …. red gold hair," he said smoothing his fingers through her luxuriant hair, loosening it from her neat braid despite her frown of disapproval.

Howl glanced around nervously, positive that someone was going to interrupt their rare moment of quietness yet again. Since their massive showdown with the witch and Miss Angorian the previous day, the couple had had almost had no time to be together alone.

Wizard Suliman was constantly fretting about what classification Lettie should be receiving and whether it was too late for her to sit the formal classification exams for wizardry. Michael and Martha were wandering around in love's dream wondering which one of them would commute or whether perhaps Martha might occasionally stay at the castle with Sophie – and if so would Howl be the sort of person to charge rent? Lettie herself was wondering whether she was able to study with someone like Suliman given her _feelings_ for him.

Fanny was wondering how she was going to cope with three weddings in the family in the distant and not so distant future and whether she would be expected to pay for all three weddings and what sort of dowry would be appropriate in such extraordinary circumstances. If she had cared to share her thoughts, Howl would have told her in no uncertain terms that he would not accept a cent. Mrs Fairfax was convinced she had found a renegade spider in a corner and was off chasing it around the castle with a broom.

The king was constantly sending heralds and messengers to Howl's door to shower gifts and accolades on him, and both Sophie and Howl spent any spare moment closing the door on the face of a crestfallen herald just as the rippling fanfare from the bugles had begun. "Damnit, does everyone know about all four of my entrances?" Howl had demanded.

"I think we ought to live happily ever after." Howl had told her with great seriousness in his voice the day before. "It should be hair-raising." She wasn't sure if he had meant it as a warming or a promise. With Howl, it could have been either.

"And you'll exploit me," Sophie had said to him.

"And then you'll cut up all my suits to teach me," Howl had told her, a smile curving his mischievous mouth.

Through the midst of the flurry of words and shouting, Sophie and Howl had stood there holding each others hands, smiling and smiling, quite unable to stop and their words had been like an exchange of strange vows between them.

"Don't bother me now," Howl had said, his eyes not moving from his Sophie. "I only did it for the money."

"Liar!" Sophie had said without heat, her eyes not moving from his.

Calcifer's voluntary return had made them all take notice and there had been great delight in the household at the news that he had come back, even if, as he put it, it was only to take shelter from the rain. Howl and Sophie had then been pulled apart, Howl to attend to the king with the Wizard Suliman and Prince Justin, and Sophie to tend to her sisters and stepsister.

It wasn't until this morning, when Sophie had crept to the hearth to cook some bacon, that they managed to have a moment alone together – although Calcifer was there, so technically they weren't alone.

"Michael and Martha are off wandering somewhere. The commute issue has been temporarily put aside and they are currently occupied reciting bad poetry to one another." he explained to her.

"And what of Lettie and Wizard Suliman?"

"I arranged for them to have joint counselling sessions together in preparation for the wedding. Both are still coming to terms with the whole student /teacher issue, not to mention the 'I used to be headless' and 'I'm getting involved with a man who used to be headless' issue."

"And my stepmother?"

"I told her to stop fretting about financial issues as I would pay for all three weddings if she would just get Prince Justin and the King off my tail."

"Oh. And Mrs Fairfax?"

"I created several emanations of spiders; Mrs Fairfax is chasing around Market Chipping with a broom in pursuit of them now."

"You're terrible…" Sophie said to him reprovingly. Howl looked unrepentant.

Sophie's brows drew together in a frown.

"_Three_ weddings?" she demanded.

"Ah, the bacon's about ready now," he said, leaning down to take the bacon off onto a plate.

"_Three_ weddings?" she demanded. "I don't recall ever having been asked in the first place, Wizard Howl."

"It's the least you can do for the man who cured your rheumatism," Howl said beguilingly. "You used to keep us all awake at night with that creaking and groaning of your joints." Sophie glared at him. "And what about your heart palpitations? Didn't Calcifer and I cure those?" he demanded.

Sophie smiled despite herself and touched his cheek. "Caused them is more like it." she said softly. "I have to admit I did wonder whether I charmed myself when I stitched your scarlet and grey suit, or if I stitched my own love for you into it."

The mockery faded from Howl's vivid face.

"I can't be sure of that either, love. All I know is that I doubt any magical spell could be stronger than the way I feel for you."

Calcifer sparked bright orange in happiness. He then turned bright red in intense embarrassment at what followed. Finally he gave up and hid under a log to leave the couple to their brief moment of privacy.

_**The End**_


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